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Selected AbstractsMatrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 in central nervous system and their modification after vanadium inhalationJOURNAL OF APPLIED TOXICOLOGY, Issue 6 2008L. Colín-Barenque Abstract Vanadium (V) derivatives are well-known environmental pollutants and its toxicity has been related with oxidative stress. Toxicity after vanadium inhalation on the substantia nigra, corpus striatum, hippocampus and ependymal epithelium was reported previously. The purpose of this study was to analyse the role of matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP-2) and 9 (MMP-9) in the changes observed in brain tissue after chronic V inhalation. Mice were exposed to vaporized, vanadium pentoxide 0.02 m in deionized water for 1 h twice a week, and killed at 1 h, 1, 2 and 4 weeks after exposure. The brain was removed and the olfactory bulb, prefrontal cortex, striatum and hippocampus were dissected and the MMP content was obtained by zymography. The results showed that MMP-9 increased in all the structures at the end of the exposure, although in the hippocampus this increment was evident after 1 week of exposure. When MMP-2 was analysed in the olfactory bulb and prefrontal cortex it remained unchanged throughout the whole exposure, while in the hippocampus it increased at week 4, while in the striatum MMP-2 increased from the second week only, through the whole experiment. These results demonstrate that V increased MMPs in different structures of the CNS and this change might be associated with the previously reported modifications, such as dendritic spine loss and neuronal cell death. The modifications in MMPs could be related with blood,brain barrier (BBB) disruption which was reported previously. Oxidative stress might also be involved in the activation of these gelatinases as part of the different mechanisms which take place in V toxicity in the CNS. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Tretinoin Peels versus Glycolic Acid Peels in the Treatment of Melasma in Dark-Skinned PatientsDERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 5 2004Niti Khunger MD Background. Chemical peels have become a popular method for treating melasma. Although daily topical 0.05 and 0.1% tretinoin have been used for melasma, the therapy takes at least 4 to 6 months to produce clinically significant lightening. In a recent trial, 1% tretinoin peel has shown good clinical and histologic results after biweekly applications in 2.5 weeks only in the treatment of melasma. Objective. Because there is a paucity of studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of 1% tretinoin peel in the treatment of melasma in dark-skinned Asian population, we conducted a pilot study to evaluate the efficacy and side effects of this potentially new peeling agent versus a standard peeling agent, 70% glycolic acid, in the treatment of melasma in Indian women. Methods. Ten female patients of melasma, after written consent, were taken up for an open left,right comparison pilot study of 12 weeks. One percent tretinoin peel was applied on one-half of the face, whereas 70% glycolic acid was applied on the other at weekly intervals. The results were evaluated by a clinical investigator by using the modified Melasma Area and Severity Index and with photographs at baseline and 6 and 12 weeks. Results. A significant decrease in the modified Melasma Area and Severity Index from baseline to 6 weeks and then from 6 to 12 weeks was observed on both facial sides (p<0.001). Nevertheless, there was no statistically significant difference between the right and the left sides. Side effects were minimal and 1% tretinoin peel appeared to be well tolerated by the patients. Conclusions. It was concluded from the present trial that serial 1% tretinoin peel is a well tolerated and as effective a therapy for melasma in dark-skinned individuals as a standard and well-tried chemical peel, 70% glycolic acid, although larger trials over longer periods may be necessary to substantiate such findings. [source] Characterization of serum and mucosal antibody responses and relative per cent survival in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), following immunization and challenge with Flavobacterium psychrophilumJOURNAL OF FISH DISEASES, Issue 12 2002B R LaFrentz Abstract Serum and mucosal antibody responses of juvenile rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, were characterized by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) following immunization with various preparations of formalin-killed Flavobacterium psychrophilum cells. The protective nature of these preparations was then determined by immunizing rainbow trout fry and challenging with the bacterium. Juvenile rainbow trout immunized intraperitoneally (i.p.) with formalin-killed F. psychrophilum emulsified with Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA), and i.p. with formalin-killed F. psychrophilum either with or without culture supernatant generated significant serum antibody responses by 6 and 9 weeks, respectively. Significant mucosal antibody responses were detected by 9 weeks only in fish immunized i.p. with killed F. psychrophilum/FCA. Following immunization and bacterial challenge of rainbow trout fry, protective immunity was conferred in F. psychrophilum/FCA and saline/FCA groups with relative per cent survival values of up to 83 and 51, respectively. Significant protection was not observed in treatment groups immunized by immersion or i.p. without adjuvant at the challenge doses tested. Results suggest that stimulation of non-specific immune factors enhances the ability of fish to mount a protective immune response, but specific antibody appears necessary to provide near complete protection. In this study, an ELISA was developed to monitor anti- F. psychrophilum antibody production in trout. The relationship of such responses to protective immunity suggests that future vaccination strategies against coldwater disease may require stimulation of both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune response. [source] Study of Japanese encephalitis and other viral encephalitis in Nepali childrenPEDIATRICS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 6 2007AJIT RAYAMAJHI Abstract Background: A hospital-based prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in children aged 1 month,14 years to identify the proportion of viral encephalitis due to Japanese encephalitis (JE) and compare the clinico-laboratory profile and outcome of JE with that of other viral encephalitis (non-JE). Methods: All probable cases of viral encephalitis on clinical and laboratory evaluation were confirmed as JE on anti-JE IgM in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and/or serum. Patients not having anti-JE IgM in CSF and/or serum were diagnosed as having non-JE. Results: Of 94 cases, 58 were JE and 36 non-JE. Although practice of rearing pigs at home was associated with JE (P = 0.0001), significantly higher serum creatinine, protein, aspartate aminotransferase and CSF protein levels were observed in non-JE. Longer duration of fever was associated with complete recovery in JE whereas shorter duration of fever was associated with recovery in non-JE. Risk of neurological sequelae (P = 0.01), especially hemiparesis (P = 0.03) was significantly more in JE. Sequelae were observed at 6 weeks follow up in 18.8% of JE and 13.9% of non-JE. Conclusion: JE was the most common cause of viral encephalitis in eastern Nepal and should be suspected in encephalitic patients having pig rearing at home and neurological sequelae. Although duration of hospitalization and complication were higher in JE, final outcome was similar to non-JE. Longer duration of fever in JE and shorter duration of fever in non-JE correlated with recovery, while altered sensorium and focal neurological deficit were independent predictors of sequelae at 6 weeks only in JE and not in non-JE. [source] Latest news and product developmentsPRESCRIBER, Issue 3 2008Article first published online: 26 FEB 200 Higher risk of CV events in aspirin resistance More than one in four patients may have aspirin resistance, a new metaanalysis shows, and they face a four-to sixfold increased risk of a major cardiovascular event or death compared with aspirin-sensitive patients taking low-dose aspirin (BMJ online: 17 Jan 2008; doi:10. 1136/bmj.39430.529549.BE). The analysis included 20 studies involving a total of 2930 patients with cardiovascular disease. Of these, 28 per cent were defined as having aspirin resistance (according to the various definitions in each study). Compared with aspirin-sensitive patients, the odds ratio of any cardiovascular event or acute coronary syndrome was about 4 and the odds ratio of death was 6. Aspirin-resistant patients did not benefit from other antiplatelet treatment. ADOPT: rosiglitazone fracture risk in women A new analysis of the ADOPT trial (N Engl J Med 2006;355: 2427-43) has found that the risk of fractures during treatment with rosiglitazone (Avandia) is approximately twice as high as with metformin or glibenclamide, but mainly in women (Diabetes Care online: 25 Jan 2008; doi: 10.2337/dc07-2270). The study found a significant difference in risk between the drugs only for women, with a cumulative incidence of 15.1 per cent with rosiglitazone, 7.3 per cent with metformin and 7.7 per cent with glibenclamide after five years. No risk factors were identified although the incidence of fractures was higher among postmenopausal than premenopausal women. New from NICE Infliximab for the treatment of adults with psoriasis. Technology Appraisal Guidance No. 134, Jan 2008 Infliximab (Remicade), a monoclonal antibody against TNF-alpha, should be an option for treating very severe plaque psoriasis in adults, NICE recommends. Using its fast-track single technology appraisal procedure, NICE concluded that infliximab should be considered when standard therapies,methotrexate or ciclosporin (Neoral), or PUVA , have failed or are unsuitable. The criteria for disease severity are defined by the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) score (,20) and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score (>18). Treatment response is also defined by these measures and infliximab should be continued for longer than 10 weeks only when predefined thresholds are met. Infliximab costs an average of £11 750 annually. In 2006, NICE recommended etanercept (Enbrel) and efalizumab (Raptiva) for patients with severe psoriasis (PASI ,10 and DLQI >10). Commons committee wants tougher targets Most GPs get full QOF points for medicines management even though there is inexplicably large variation in good prescribing practice between PCTs, the Public Accounts Select Committee points out in its latest report, Prescribing Costs in Primary Care. The Committee wants to see tougher QOF targets among several initiatives to reduce prescribing costs. Although most publicity centred on its endorsement of the National Audit Office claim that GPs could save £200 million by prescribing lower-cost drugs, the report contains some more far-reaching proposals. GPs should prescribe generic alternatives within a therapeutic category, so when a brand is not available generically, eg Lipitor, a different drug that is, eg simvastatin, should be used when clinically appropriate. Further, this form of substitution should be rewarded via QOF targets. There should be greater uniformity in the appearance, labelling and packaging of generic and branded equivalents. The Department of Health should consider raising awareness of the value of medicines by printing the cost on packaging, and to reduce the £100 million wasted annually in dumped medicines, it should investigate which drugs aren't used and why patients won't take them. Strategic health authorities should work with the National Prescribing Centre to develop more prescribing indicators with which to measure PCT performance and support PCTs to promulgate best practice. They should also collaborate on promoting joint primary-secondary care formularies and increase the consistency of prescribing, not only between hospital specialists and GPs but also between PCTs. To monitor the influence of the pharmaceutical industry, PCTs should keep a record of gifts and hospitality and publish a register. Questions to ask about mental health treatment The Department of Health has published a booklet designed to raise awareness of medicines management issues affecting people using mental health services and their carers, and professionals in the health and social services. Although one aim of Medicines Management: Everybody's Business is to empower people with mental health problems to ask about their medication, its formal style is better suited to staff who need to improve their person-centred approach to care. It covers what information people should expect and what questions to ask when drug treatment is being considered, what to expect at review and issues to consider when contemplating stopping treatment. Copies can be downloaded at www.dh.gov.uk. Consider statins for all patients with diabetes Treatment with a statin should be considered for all patients with diabetes unless their risk is low, say the authors of a new study (Lancet 2008;371:117-25). Their meta-analysis of 14 randomised trials involving 18 686 people with diabetes and an average follow-up of 4.3 years found that statins reduced vascular events and vascular mortality as much as in nondiabetic populations. The overall benefit was 42 fewer major events per 1000 people treated for five years. This was independent of a history of vascular disease or other baseline characteristics. No evidence for OTC cough medicines There is no evidence that over-the-counter cough medicines for adults and children are effective in relieving acute cough, a new Cochrane review has concluded (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 1). The review of 17 randomised trials involving 2876 adults and eight involving 616 children reported conflicting findings of uncertain clinical relevance. The trials were heterogeneous and of low quality. Copyright © 2008 Wiley Interface Ltd [source] The impact of mesoscale convective systems on the surface and boundary-layer structure in West Africa: Case-studies from the AMMA campaign 2006THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 648 2010Juliane Schwendike Abstract Within the framework of the AMMA project, atmospheric, surface and soil observations were performed during the pre-onset phase of the monsoon (Special Observing Period SOP 1) and during the summer monsoon (SOP 2) in 2006. Based on several case-studies the paper investigates the impact of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) on the surface and boundary layer (PBL), the recovery time of the surface and the PBL after MCS passages, and the differences between the two monsoon phases. In the pre-MCS environment the mean conditional and convective instabilities were higher in SOP 1 than in SOP 2 (e.g. CAPE = 1815 J kg,1 and CAPE = 1295 J kg,1, respectively). In both monsoon phases these instabilities, which were strongly reduced by MCSs, recovered within less than 2 days. Precipitation of the MCSs and the resulting soil moisture increase caused a significant decrease in the surface temperature by up to 10 K and an increase in evapotranspiration by up to 2.5 mm d,1. In both phases of the monsoon, these surface anomalies and, hence, the conditions favourable for triggering MCSs by thermally induced circulation systems, diminished largely within 2 to 3 days. Due to the repeated passage of the first MCSs at intervals of a few days during SOP 1, the surface properties exhibited trends towards higher soil moisture, evapotranspiration and humidity, and lower albedo, temperature and Bowen ratio. After two weeks only, the mean conditions present in the summer monsoon were reached. In SOP 2 no significant trends could be detected. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Effects of paternal cigarette smoking on testicular function, sperm fertilizing capacity, embryonic development, and blastocyst capacity for implantation in ratsANDROLOGIA, Issue 2 2004A. Kapawa Summary. We evaluated the effects of paternal smoking on testicular function, sperm fertilizing capacity, embryonic development, and blastocyst capacity for implantation. Rats of group A were exposed to cigarette smoke for 10 weeks. Rats of group B were exposed to the smoke of incense sticks for 10 weeks. Rats of group C served as a control group. Rats of group D were exposed to cigarette smoke for 7 weeks only. Experimental period was 10 weeks in all groups. At the end of the experimental period serum testosterone responses to human chorionic gonadotropin stimulation, andro-gen-binding protein activity in testicular cytosols, epididymal sperm motility, and oocyte fertilization rate, oocyte cleavage rate, and blastocyst development rate after in vitro fertilization (IVF) trials were significantly smaller in group A compared with groups B and C. In contrast, fertilization rate, cleavage rate, and blastocyst development rate after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) procedures were not significantly different among groups A, B, C, and D. Both after IVF trials and ICSI techniques, the proportion of the alive offspring to the number of transferred oocytes was significantly smaller in group A than in groups B and C. Cigarette smoke-exposure results in a secretory deficiency of Leydig and Sertoli cells leading to an impaired epididymal sperm maturation process and diminished capacity of spermatozoa to penetrate oocytes. In addition paternal cigarette smoke exposure affects the embryonic ability for implantation. [source] | |||||||||||||